pibbuR who wonders if the beast (which he assumes is called Ripper, or depending on size, the Big Ripper) like the wisdom, lore and behaviour of cats?
PS Our late cat, Rüsce (Quenya for fox) didn't like dogs. Come to think of it, she didn't like any mammal, possibly other than herself, and 4 primates. DS.
My dog is not generally of ripping temperament, and she will actually greet some of the local felines. There is one that defecates in the vegetable beds, though, and she won't stand for that.
But really quite a nice creature. A while back we were walking in the park, and she started dragging me towards the bushes, not taking 'no' for an answer. In the bushes there was a little girl huddled down and crying. It was nothing sinister - some other girls had been mean to her, and she couldn't find her mum. The dog started licking her face and making her laugh, so I left them together and went off to fetch mum.
Children, to my dog, are known to make a fuss of her and throw her ball for ages, which places them in an esteemed position in the human pantheon.
And just recently we were walking down the street, and we came across this guy that was literally hopping mad. Someone had dinged his parked car, and left no details. He kind of came across as yelling at me, but he was just sharing his outrage. The dog gave me a look to say, "What's this guy's deal? Shall I do the low-down growling thing?" And I looked back to say, "No, don't worry." It's that level of understanding you can have with some dogs that I find amazing.
Funnily enough, she has never responded to anything on a TV screen, except for one image. A few years ago there was a murderer on the loose, named Raoul Moat. They kept showing his mugshot on the news. Every time it came up, she would crouch and start with the guttural growling and the hackles.